One of Hitchens’ most powerful dictums? “What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.” Hitchens was well aware that he turned readers off when he would call the woman known as Mother Teresa a “fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud.” (And that’s not even the worst of it. More importantly, he was perfectly prepared to back up his assertions. Unlike so many “careful” public thinkers, Hitchens was not afraid to honestly say what he believed.

I use “Mommie Dearest” in most of my composition classes because it’s a representative example of powerful rhetoric. Fortunately, Hitchens has achieved the only kind of immortality for which a writer can hope: his ideas live on in his works and in the hearts and minds of those who read them. You’ll notice I didn’t say that Hitchens “went on to his reward” or that he “passed away” or that he is “in a better place.” As Hitchens would agree (if he could), his body is currently in some state of decomposition as it slowly returns to the elements from which it came. Element of Craft We’re Stealing: Use of Rhetoricĭecemis the one-year anniversary of the death of Christopher Hitchens. In addition to publishing several books and countless articles, Hitchens was a legendary public speaker many of his speeches and debates can be viewed on YouTube. Hitchens also published a book about Mother Teresa called (somewhat cheekily) The Missionary Position. Author: Christopher Hitchens Date of Work: 2003 Where the Work Can Be Found: The article was originally published on Slate. Title of Work and its Form: “Mommie Dearest,” nonfiction…we’re also considering the rest of the Hitchens oeuvre.

Mommie dearest christopher